My Blog
Reading your own audiobook: is it a good idea?
I've been reading a piece in this quarter's 'The Author' from the splendid Society of Authors, about the frustrations of listening to a reader making a poor job of recording your book, and being powerless to intervene. And another piece from Alice Jolly about the...
I’m asking again – do I need an agent?
I'm sure I've blogged about finding an agent before: I certainly think about it 'ad nauseam', but until this past week I've done nothing about it since about 2012. Aversion, avoidance - for whatever reason I've put it off, until a necessary change in my route to...
Audiobooks: can I do it all myself?
It's amazing what a relief it is to have decided already that I won't have a new book out until mid-2018. For the first time in five years I feel I can step back a little and not be plunged immediately into the research and planning of a new book, while simultaneously...
Algorithms for Marketing? What?
I was talking self-publishing with an old friend who writes and publishes in a different genre to me, and does very well. Most of his sales are on Amazon, both paperback and ebook formats. 'It's all about algorithms,' he said, and I nodded sagely. I should have said...
Here’s to the Society of Authors
I love the Society of Authors, for all sorts of reasons. For a start, they let me join, which for an independently published author is a real bonus, as most of the writers' groups won't let me join regardless of how many real, well-produced and well-written novels I...
What’s in a name?
I always struggle with titles, and then with the cover image that should illuminate the title and engage the reader: as an independent author/publisher, these decisions are all mine. The image on the cover of 'Cruel Tide' developed before I even started the book. It...